"Peacekeepers" on the Diaspora's payroll: a new attempt to go against Azerbaijan

When the money is received, but there are no tools to complete the task, such bills appear. They are clearly and neatly written, accompanied by all the necessary links and references. They have authors who seem to be considered serious people. But there are very big doubts about the degree of reasonableness of those who come up with such a thing. 

A few days ago, a bill entitled "On Preventing Escalation and Promoting Cooperation in the Caucasus" ("PEACE Act") was submitted to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, as well as to the Committees on the Judicial System and Financial Services of the Congress. The authors of this outrage are two congressmen from the Republican Party. It should be noted that after the losses in the ranks of Democratic lobbyists, the Armenian diaspora in the United States switched to purchasing lobbyists from among the representatives of the ruling party. It's safer this way and closer to the White House.

The authors, Darrell Issa and Gus Bilirakis, have submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives a bill on ways to punish Azerbaijan in the event of a "resumption of aggressive actions against Armenia." This was done, as indicated, "in order to support peace negotiations between the countries." Of course, there is no punishment for Armenia in case of violation of the "constructive negotiations".

That's what it says in the preamble.: "To impose sanctions on Azerbaijan for the resumption of acts of aggression and for other purposes." It is not specified what the other goals are. It would be interesting to know. Issa and Bilirakis have already rekindled our "aggressive" curiosity. 

At first, everything goes within the framework of Trump's policy, which does not allow bias in one direction or another. The bill supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and welcomes negotiations to conclude a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace agreement. But with that, the voice of reason fades away.

To be honest, what appears in the "Sanctions" section came as a surprise to us. A lot of nonsense has been voiced by the regulars of the Armenian congressional feeding trough over the past decades, but two newly minted lobbyists have broken the bottom. I should have thought of something like that.

The project is aimed at establishing certain obligations - no, not to Azerbaijan, but to the President of the United States. Let's convey the essence of this nonsense in our own words. If the president of the United States suddenly notices any aggressive intentions on the part of Baku, he is obliged to immediately complain about us to Congress, which will immediately get down to business and impose various sanctions against officials, their family members and officials involved in the "aggression". After the "victory" on this flank, America proceeds to attack Azerbaijani energy exports. According to the crazy project, all financial institutions that are somehow involved in transactions between Azerbaijan and its partners will be punished. If, during the implementation of the declaration concluded in Washington, some (Azerbaijani, of course) person decides to interfere with or evade something, the US Secretary of State immediately uncovers his cannon and begins firing at the violator with sanctions.

Yes, it all sounds like complete nonsense. The two congressmen who gave birth to it probably imagined something under the influence of some powerful drugs, because if they were in their right mind and sober memory, it would be impossible to compose such a thing. Nevertheless, the project exists and is shamelessly sent for consideration by the commissions. If there are sensible people on the commissions, the crazy project may not reach wide discussions. But let's not forget that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives has always skipped pro-Armenian projects. Despite Trump's policies, Congress has its own interests. The lobby lives at the expense of the Armenians, and it is not going to look up to the White House, because otherwise the handouts will stop, the bosses' orders must be fulfilled, and the lobbyists' bosses are not in the White House, but in the Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian Assembly of the United States.  

At the end of September, during the congressional review of the law extending the powers of the State Department for fiscal year 2026, the Foreign Affairs Committee unanimously adopted an amendment to the H.R. 3000 law proposed by lobbyist Gabe Amo. According to the amendment, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is required to cooperate with the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan in order to "release Armenian prisoners of war," "protect Armenian religious and historical sites," "ensure the return of refugees from Karabakh," and "end the conflict peacefully." In other words, the US government is now obliged to follow the instructions issued by the Armenian Congressional caucus. The Armenian organizations of the United States that pay for his services will not leave things to chance and will constantly slow down the lobby so that it pulls the State Department and demands compliance with the instructions contained in the amendment.

It goes without saying that if the State Department starts putting pressure on Baku, it will lead to a cooling of relations again, because the Azerbaijani side will not allow anyone to interfere in its internal affairs, despite the fact that we have become such friends with America today. If anyone has not noticed, Baku does not allow such interference from its close friends and allies.

It is possible that the main goal of the diaspora is precisely the destruction of relations between Baku and Washington. The diaspora cannot count on the fact that demands and sanctions can make Azerbaijan dance to someone else's tune. She had been trying to achieve this for thirty years and had failed. Moreover, it is not serious to hope for success today, when Azerbaijan has raised its status on the world stage. In addition, in the new geopolitical situation, the hegemony of the United States has significantly weakened, as can be seen from Europe's resistance to Washington's instructions regarding Russian oil and gas. And this is despite, to put it mildly, deeply unfriendly relations between the European Union and Moscow. So it would be naive to rely on the effectiveness of sanctions.

The only result that can please the Armenians may be a cooling off between Azerbaijan and the United States, if the American side really tries to comply with the requirements of the amendments written by people with obvious cognitive disabilities.

However, the diaspora should not count on this either. In his peacekeeping efforts, Donald Trump does not aim to serve the Armenian side. To demonstrate his ability to resolve conflicts, he needs Azerbaijan and Armenia to make real peace as soon as possible. He will not take steps that can slow down the achievement of success. It is possible that attempts will be made to raise the above issues with Baku, however, if Trump feels that this is driving the process into a dead end, the attempts will stop. In the past, international mediators needed to keep peace as long as possible, but the current head of the White House is interested in just the opposite.

Is it worth continuing? I think that's quite enough.